I found the three Kunoichi in the desert away from Astal, Sandra's second capital, in the desert.
　For now, I'm going to give them all a "recovery" and send them straight to the isolation ward at Brunhild Castle at the "gate". This is so that Flora and Tika can examine them.
　Just in case it was some kind of germ or something, we'd be in big trouble. I don't think they're going to be a problem.
　I'm going to ask Morobane and Karina, who were bored, to come over. If a person can use the divine energy, including me, it doesn't matter what the pathogen is.
　As the sun is beginning to set, I pick up the two of them and fly to Astal at once on the magic carpet.
　On the way, we passed a few carriages that looked like they had escaped from Astal.
　They didn't seem to notice us at all because of the cloaking magic, but they seemed to be traveling merchants. I'm sure you'll find no survivors on the earlier map, and perhaps they saw the devastation of Astal they visited and ran away.
　Eventually, a fortified city panting in the desert at night came into view. Is this Astal, the second city of Sandra?
　The high wall made of reddish-brown brick-like stone must have protected the city from invasion by the enemy. However, the gate into the city was left open and was not doing its job.
　Several people were lying dead in front of the gate. Judging from the way they were wearing their armor, they must be the gatekeepers.

This is....

　All of them had distorted expressions of anguish and were dried up like mummies. Small crystal-like hexagonal pillars of crystals were sticking out of every part of their bodies, appearing to have broken through and emerged from within.
　I poked at that crystal with the tip of Brunhild's blade, and the entire body tissue at the base tumbled off with a rumble.
　When I held the fallen crystal in my hand, it was only too brittle and strong for a crystal material of Fraise. If you put pressure on it, it would break as easily as a candy bar.

''What in the world happened in this city...?''

　As I muttered to myself, Sister Morobane and Sister Karina, who were beside me, peered at the fallen corpse with a difficult look on their faces.

''I knew this was........''
You look good.

　They looked at each other and nodded? What is it?

What's on your mind?
'Yes. I don't know what happened, but the people lying around here are being eaten out of their souls.
Is it eating your soul?

　What do you mean? I've heard it said that the soul leaves the body when one is stunned.

To put it simply, when we die, our souls leave our bodies and go to the heavenly realm, which is below the God realm where we live. There the soul is washed and sent out to a new body to be reborn again. It's called reincarnation.
''Well, souls that have sinned too much will need a powerful cleansing, so their souls will be shaved off so that they can only reincarnate into a d*mnable creature, but they still won't be removed from the circle of reincarnation. But.....
''Those souls here have not ascended to the heavenly realm.

　Just like Sister Karina said, I put divine power in both eyes and focused my gaze on the corpse.
　Then I saw what looked like a weakly glowing sphere inside the corpse. Is this the soul?
　But its soul was missing in places, like a bug-eating insectivore, and the light seemed to be slowly diminishing.

'Do you see it? It's the soul that's been eaten. The only thing left to do is to disappear. You'll be out of the circle of reincarnation, and you'll never be reborn as anything else again. It's true annihilation.

　True annihilation. The disappearance of existence from this world and the other world. I cringe at the thought of it.

Is there any way to save at least their souls...?
There are some things, but it's an act of God. It's not something we should be using here on earth comfortably. And don't you try it, either. It's too heavy a burden for Shinjin.

　Sister Karina nailed it.

''And I'll have to burn off all the corpses here. If their souls don't ascend to the heavens, they can take root in their bodies. If they do, they can't avoid becoming undead. It will give birth to zombies that roam the earth, seeking life.

　According to Morobane's sister, the undead are in a state where their souls remain in their bodies even after they die, regardless of whether their souls are missing or not. Some of the undead have a will because of their grudges and attachment to life, but the undead who lack a soul have no will.
　Normally, if you purify the undead, the soul is freed from the body and heads to the heavenly realm. However, a soul with a missing soul cannot ascend to the heavenly realm. It can only disappear with the body.
　Are we really going to be removed from the circle of reincarnation?
　When I entered the city, I found that not only people, but also horses, dogs, and even small birds had their souls eaten, sprouting crystals from their bodies and dying. Could this be the work of the Frays after all?
　I thought about it a lot, but I decided it was better to burn the whole city down. There would be merchandise and cash in houses and stores, but I couldn't bring myself to waste it or to take it. I don't want to act like a grave robber.
　However, if we left them unattended, they would become the property of heartless people and thieves. In that case, I felt that it would be better to erase it from the earth along with its owner.
　There was also the idea of handing it over to the Sandra Kingdom, but there was still the possibility of a pathogen, and it would be troublesome if it was used to fund the mass production of the 'Enslavement Collar'.
　The search magic would make sure there were no living creatures, and burn this city with the heat that would melt gold and silver coins and even metal.
　All the souls that have fallen out of the circle of reincarnation.

"Go mad with the flames, Purgatory's fires, prominence.

　The entire city is engulfed in the flames of the magic I invoked. In the darkness, with the sun completely set, the blazing fire that scorches the heavens burns everything in sight.
　The walls of the house crumble, the roof falls down, and the house is surrounded by flames and melts.
　As I watched the fire, I felt a sense of helplessness.

'Does getting your soul eaten away happen a lot?'
"Could it be a spiritual demon? Wraiths, phantoms, specters, etc. Soul-eating demons are often attracted to the negative emotions of humans. A soul tainted with dark emotions is the perfect treat for them.
Fear is the easiest thing to get at. They love a soul tainted with anxiety, fear, despair, and so on. They don't show, they hunt them down in mental fear. Fear of the unknown is an emotion that everyone has for things that are incomprehensible," he said.

　Come to think of it, I've heard something about humans being the only ones who are afraid of the darkness. Humans let their imaginations run wild wondering if there is "something" in that darkness. That's what creates "fear". The "fear of the unknown" comes from the imagination.
　Well, I know that spiritual demons can eat your soul. However, I'm far from convinced that what happened this time was the work of a demon.
　The same is true of that crystal, and it seems unreasonable to prey on all these people. Well, if it was tens of thousands of wraiths attacking them, it's not hard to understand.
　Something.........something I don't understand is moving.

One thing comes to mind.

　Looking at the burning city, Morobane sister muttered.

'The thing that eats souls and grows... maybe an evil god is about to be born...'
Oh, I see. That's what I've found. The only sacred artifacts in this world are Fuyu's Suma'otohomoto....

　Is that an evil god? A defective god that is born when an evil heart gathers in a sacred object in which the power of the gods resides. It's called lower than the subordinate gods, so maybe it's not so bad for the gods, but for the people on earth, it's a big deal.
　They are called evil gods, but they are not gods, and since they were born on earth, the gods seem to be basically non-interventionist. However, it is certain that the power of the gods is involved in its birth, so they don't leave it irresponsible, and they seem to be doing something as much as giving the brave people a divine sword or a holy sword or something.
　A subordinate god has created something like a divine weapon and is planning the birth of an evil god?

''Well, I don't have to worry about the birth of the evil gods, because we have you in this world, Fuyao-kun.
'Neither of them are gods while possessing the power of gods. But on the one hand, the lowest level of the gods, a make-believe creation of the subordinate gods, and on the other hand, a member of the Almighty Supreme Being. No contest.
''I hope so..........''

　I'd rather not have an evil god, though. Well, if he's lower than that neat god, I think I can handle it.
　I'm more concerned about the symptoms of the crystal. I don't think it's likely that... but did Freys and the Dependent God join forces?
　That's ridiculous I'd like to think, but that suspicion doesn't go away.
　I have a feeling that the birth of an evil god or something like that has something to do with Fraise. It's still just a hunch........

''.........Mm? What's going on here? What ... is ... moving?

　I huffed and looked up at the voice of Sister Morobane, who had been watching the infernal fires burning. What is it?
　Shadows flickering in the flames. Ridiculous. It's a flame that melts even iron!
　In front of my startled face, a crystal skeleton jumped out of the flames.

''Whoa!''

　With a swing of her arm, the crystal-clear arrow released by Sister Karina shoots through the head of the skeleton that attacked her.
　The skeleton with its head crushed fell to the spot, but the crushed head snapped back to life. This is the same as Frayze........!
　The regeneration ended and the crystal skeleton rose up in a shimmering manner. Around its heart, there was a glowing red core the size of a golf ball.

''Nono...!

　He pulled out Brunhild and drew his gun claw at the nucleus. When the bullet released pierced the nucleus, the skeleton's entire body shattered into pieces.
　Regeneration ability. When the nucleus is shattered, it ceases to operate. It's exactly the same as Fraise. Probably, magic wouldn't work either. Otherwise, there's no way they could have gotten this far in those flames.
　Is this........because of the crystal that was growing out of that body!

'It looks like they're still coming out. It looks like all the corpses in the city have been flayed....
"It's hard to fight here! Into the desert!

　Both of them stepped backwards at the sound of my voice. One after another, crystal skeletons, or skeletons, crawled out of the gates of the burning city, one after another. While keeping a distance from them, my bullets and Karina's sister's arrows shoot through the nukes.
　Some of them were small skeletons that could only be children, and I felt my chest tighten, but I still shoot the nucleus down.
　Their souls will never be saved again. They will never be saved, and they will never be laid to rest. They will just disappear.
　Sister Morobane steps forward and crushes the core of the Skeleton Flames with her sword. Each one of them is not strong, but it's troublesome when there are so many of them like this.
　The strength itself is at a level that even an ordinary swordsman could defeat. If that's the case....

"Come, Darkness, I seek a skeleton warrior, a skeleton warrior.

　From the summoning formation I opened on the ground, pure white skeletons crawl out one after another. They are the Skeleton Warrior, holding swords in their right hands and shields in their left.
　An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Skeletons for skeletons.

''Defeat the crystal skeletons that come out of the city gates! Poke the nuke in the chest!

　Unlike other flames, the crystal skeleton's core is bare and can be aimed through the cracks in the ribs. It could even crush an entire rib by force. There wasn't much of a threat.
　One after another, he called out the Skeleton Warrior 《Skeleton Warrior》. And there are thousands of them. There's no reason for my magical strength.
　The battle between the army of skeletal warriors and the army of crystal skeletons crawling out of the flames. Apparently the crystal skeletons, like the flames, attack humans on instinct, and although Astel has other gates, they all come towards our side.
　A wall of skeleton warriors blocked it and crushed the crystal skeletons indifferently. What can I say.......it's a task.
　Strangely, non-human horses, dogs, etc. didn't become flayed. Is there some condition?

"A battle of skeletons against skeletons..... It's like a hellscape.

　In addition, it's a burning city in the background. It doesn't seem to be out of place.
　After two hours, the crystal skeleton had been completely destroyed by the skeleton warriors. The flames that had been burning the city were already on the verge of being extinguished. Even after searching, they couldn't find any more moving objects.
　Thus, the second capital, Astal, disappeared from the Sandra Kingdom.